


Calm Under The Waves

by AppleScruff



Series: By Your Side [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Hijack, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-13
Updated: 2013-05-07
Packaged: 2017-12-05 04:44:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/719021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleScruff/pseuds/AppleScruff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Choices. They are something you get confronted with and have to make every day. Whether or not to eat cereal. Whether take the bus or your car to school. </p><p>Choice like these may seem trivial and without big consequences but what if they´re not. What if these choice are life altering. What if taken the train or traveling by car might be the difference between life and death?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

***Liam and Zayn's apartment***

Liam walks into the living area of the apartment he and Zayn are sharing. It’s early in the morning and like Liam the sun has just risen. The sky outside is still dark from the night.   
  
Liam shuffles towards the thermometer on the wall while he rubs his arms to warm himself up. It’s really cold in the apartment, even more then it usually is. Maybe it has something to do with the storm that was raging last night.   
  
Liam looks at the thermometer and concludes with a shiver that it indeed is colder than it has ever been in the apartment. He guesses no matter how expansive your apartment is you still have problems with the heating sometimes.   
  
Normally the brown-haired boy would put on the heating to drive out the cold but he and Zayn are leaving the apartment today for a month so it would be a waste of electricity. So, instead he walks to the kitchen area to put on a pot if tea.   
  
One Direction and their significant others are going on a well-deserved vacation today and Liam is really looking forward to it. They’re going to Miami and Liam can’t wait to lay on the beach and soak in the warm sunlight. Maybe he’ll be able to finally read that book that Zayn gave him.   
  
Liam puts the kettle filled with water on the stove and switches it on. The flame doesn’t appear immediately, as if it’s afraid of the cold but after Liam has blown on the burner the blue flames suddenly leap up. he doesn’t know why, but this trick has always worked.   
  
“Damn, it’s cold” a husky voice suddenly sounds and Liam looks up to see that Zayn has come out of bed. His dark hair is a mess and his eyes are still narrow with sleep. “You would think it’s the middle of the winter.”   
  
“I’m putting on some tea, do you want something?” Liam asks with a smile. Zayn always looks this cute when he has just come out of bed and it has always made the younger boy smile.   
  
“I would love some tea” Zayn says with a sigh as he runs his hand through his bed hair. It makes it even more messier.   
  
While Liam opens a cupboard to get a cup for Zayn the older boy walks to the kitchen area while he rubs the sleep from his eyes.   
  
“Are you sure you have packed everything?” Liam asks as he walks to the kettle again with a red cup in his hand. The cup as an Arabic text on it which according to the salesclerk is a sentence out of the Koran. Liam had given it as a present to Zayn and the Bradford boy had been really happy with it. He now uses it whenever he drinks a hot beverage.   
  
“I’m sure. Practically living on the road for two years has taught me not forget to pack anything.” Zayn is standing behind Liam and puts his arms around his waist. “You need to stop worrying so much.”

***Harry and Louis apartment***

Harry groans in frustration as the alarm goes off. It really is much too early for him to get up., he wants to stay in his warm bed for at least another hour. Why again did they decide to leave at six o’clock?   
  
“Come on, we need to get up” a voice next to Harry says. The owner of the voice sounds to be more awake then Harry, as usual.   
  
“We did we decide to take the train again, Louis?” Harry groans as he throws his arm over his eyes to block out the light that suddenly assaults his eyes as the boy next to him switches on the light.   
  
“Because we want to have an as normal vacation as possible. Besides, it has been forever since we have taken the train.” Louis has risen from the bed and has started to collect his clothes from the floor. “Come on Hazza, you really need to come out of bed.”   
  
“All right, all right” Harry says with a sigh as he runs his hands through his messy curls. He throws the blanket from his naked body but he quickly covers himself again when the cold attacks his body. He knew that the temperature has dropped last night but the warmth of the woolen blanket has concealed from the young man just how low it has dropped.   
  
“That is what you get from sleeping naked” Louis says with a chuckle that makes Harry’s heart skip a beat. “I’ll hand you your clothes so you can get dressed underneath the blanket.”   
  
“Thanks” Harry mumbles and he pulls the sheet up to his chin and around his whole body.   
  
Louis picks up his friend his clothes from where they are draped over a chair and hands them over with an affectionate smile on his face. Harry looks really adorable with the sheet up to his chin. It reminds the older boy a little bit of a baby.   
  
“Thanks” Harry says again as he takes the clothes from Louis before he lets out a yawn that he tries to hold back for the past few minutes. Harry really is not a morning person, not even their early mornings on tour has changed that.   
  
“I’m going to make breakfast” Louis says as Harry ducks under the covers to get dressed. “I there anything particular you would like?”   
  
“Naw, I’m good with whatever you take.” The answer is accompanied by a wave of a hand that sticks out from under the blanket. 

  
***Niall’s apartment***

Niall and Demi are sitting at the breakfast table and both of them have a steaming cup of a hot beverage in their hands. In Niall’s there’s tea and in Demi’s there’s coffee.   
  
“I still can’t believe how loud that thunderstorm was last night” Demi says as she takes a sip from her morning coffee. Her recently dyed hair is pulled back into a high ponytail. It makes her cheek bones stand out. She looks really beautiful.   
  
“It was loud” Niall says with a sigh as he puts his cup down. Other than Demi, Niall’s hasn’t dragged a comb through his hair yet. It’s still all tangled up from his tossing and turning in the bed last night. “Thankfully it didn’t pass over our apartment.”   
  
“Let’s hope we’ll have better weather in Miami” the black-haired girl says. She folds her arms so less heat can escape her body. The morning is very unusually cold, even for England.   
  
“According to the weather report the coming week at least is going to be really sunny” the blond boy says as he stretches himself out to get the sleep out of his joints. “Let’s hope they’re right this time.”   
  
“Yes, unlike the that time we went to France for the weekend” Demi says with a chuckle. She runs a finger over the rim of her cup and she stretches her leg until her bare foot rests against Niall’s leg. Like Niall, Demi is someone we really likes physical contact. It’s one of the reasons why they work so well. “Do you remember that trip?”   
  
“Of course I do” Niall says with a smile that makes his blue eyes sparkle. Of course he remembers that trip to Paris. How could he forget. “It didn’t stop raining the whole weekend.”   
  
“But we still had a really great time” Niall says and his smile grows bigger as he remembers the fun they had in the city of Love. Even though he had been in Paris with the band a couple of times Niall hadn’t felt the magic of the French city until those two days with Demi.   
  
“I really hope we’ll have just as many happy memories from this trip as the one to Paris” Demi says with a bittersweet smile and her eyes travel back to her cup of coffee in front of her. Her feet rubs Niall’s leg affectionately, sending both a jolt of arousal as affection up his body.   
  
“We probably will” Niall says and he laces their feingers together. Demi hasn’t put on her fake nails yet therefore it doesn’t tickle when she runs her nails over the palm of Niall’s hand.   
  
Demi and Niall don’t know is that the trip to Miami won’t bring them happy memories. There will be no memories of white beaches, blue ocean water and hot summer nights. No memories of romantic walks on the beach and heavy make-out session in hotel rooms.   
  
This trip will only bring them sad and cold memories. It will give them memories of white-hot fear, guns and a pain they never knew could be so intense. This trip will leave a gaping hole in their lives and will fog their minds with a coldness that the temperature of this morning is nothing compared to.  
   
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

The members of One Direction still live in the same apartment complex they have been living in for the last three years. They don’t see the need to move when they have an apartment they like. None of the guys are people who like to spend lots of money on houses or apartments.

So when Liam and Zayn decided to take the next step in their relationship and move in together, they just bought a double bed and a few more closets. Liam’s apartment was big enough for two people to live in. But above all, it was the apartment in which they had their first kiss.

Liam closes the door to the apartment and locks it with a smile. He’s in a really good mood now that he has had his morning cup. He feels wide awake and eager to leave the dreary weather of London behind.

After he has put the key back in his pocket he turns around and is greeted by the sight of a yawning Zayn. The older boy is still not fully awake.

“I think it would be best that I drive,” Liam comments with a grin and he gives Zayn’s upper arm a squeeze. He would have liked to ruffle Zayn’s hair but he knows his boyfriend wouldn’t like it if he did that. He is really protective when it comes to his quiff, which is understandable as it takes a lot of time to create one.

“You’re probably right.” Zayn scrunches his face as he tries to stifle another yawn. “I’ll probably fall asleep again as soon as we’re sitting in the car. I’ll be no use behind the wheel with my eyes closed.”

With a smile full of love Liam pulls Zayn flush against his chest and wraps an arm around his waist. Liam loves the feeling of Zayn’s solid body against his, a feeling he at first needed to get accustomed to. It had felt so different from a woman’s chest.

“Do you have any idea how adorable you look?” Liam asks as he runs a finger over the side of his boyfriend’s face and over his jaw line. Liam loves how sharp it is.

Zayn shudders at the feathery light touch of Liam’s finger and looks at him with his eyes that seem to be made of gold. It looks really beautiful with his copper skin.

“I’m not cute, I’m sexy,” Zayn mutters while Liam’s face comes closer. Liam can feel his boyfriend’s heart starting to beat faster, much like his own. “Niall is cute, not me.”

“You’re both cute, but in different ways.”

Before Liam can close the distance between his and Zayn’s lips he’s interrupted by a loud voice that resounds against the walls of the silent building, probably waking up the whole floor.

“You two should get a room.”

“Louis,” Liam whispers screams and turns to his band mate, who is at the other end of the hallway, with a glare. Louis just grins at him and waves his hand as if Liam isn’t shooting him daggers. Harry, who is holding his other hand, has an identical smirk on his face. “Do you want to wake the whole building?”

“Nope, just this floor,” Louis jokes, this time in a stage whisper.

Fifteen minutes later all three couples are downstairs with their luggage and after they have decided which couple takes which route they say goodbye to each other and walk to their car. The cars are parked in a parking lot beneath the apartment complex.

Because they want to draw as little attention to themselves as possible the three couples each take a different route to the train station. That way fans will have more difficulty recognizing either them or the car. Liam really loves the fans of him and his band mates but they sometimes scare him with all the things they know about them.

Liam still can’t believe how many fans remained when he and Zayn had come out as a couple, three months after Harry and Louis did. He had been really scared of losing a lot of fans, even the ones who ship them together. Those fans might ship them together in their stories but maybe they wanted it to remain fiction.

But he needn’t have worried, almost all the fans remained loyal - they even acquired new ones. They were flooded with cards and letters in which the fans whished them all the happiness in the world. Zayn and Liam had stayed up all night to read the lovely messages addressed to the two of them. It had been one of the best moments in Liam’s life, along with his first kiss with Zayn and when the first One Direction album went to number one.

After they had put the entire luggage in the trunk, Liam and Zayn got into the car, Liam behind the wheel of course.

Liam starts the engine and smiles at the man sitting next to him. The neon light of the underground parking lot makes Zayn’s cheekbones stand out and his skin glow. Liam has always thought of Zayn as a Greek statue come to life. He had the same toned chest and angular face as the cold, white statues of the ancient times when male beauty was still the perfect beauty.

Zayn smiles back at him and with a twinkle in his eyes he says,” when you’re done admiring me, can you pull out of the parking space? We have a train to catch.”

“Right,” Liam snickers and he shakes his head to get out of the trances that Zayn’s gorgeousness has put him in. “Let’s go.”

Even though they‘re a little behind schedule they still have fifteen minutes to catch the train when they arrive at the station.

Liam and Zayn quickly grab their luggage and walk to the entrance of the small train station. The train will take them to Gatwick Airport from there they will take a plane to America.

Luckily, nobody recognizes the two pop stars when they storm into the train station, a little out of breath and dragging their suitcases behind them. Zayn has two suitcases while Liam has a suitcase and a backpack.

“Come on, we need to be in platform seven,” Liam says hurriedly and glances behind him to look if his boyfriend isn’t too far behind.

The three couples have agreed to meet up in the train itself, once again to avoid drawing attention to them. At times like this Liam is once again reminded that being a famous pop star makes one’s life very complicated.

Zayn curses when one of his suitcases slips from his hand and lands on the ground with a loud bang, drawing the attention of a couple of bystanders.

Liam rushes to Zayn to help him pick up his suitcase again. Zayn thanks him and apologizes to Liam with an irritated look on his face for being a klutz. Liam just kisses him on the cheek and tells him it’s alright.

The two boys hurry on but they don’t come far when Liam collides with a man standing in the middle of the hall, his face turned upwards to look at the time table of the trains.

The collision knocks the air from Liam’s lungs and lands him on his ass. Because he knows he’s the one at fault Liam immediately starts to apologize while Zayn helps him up with a worried look on his handsome face.

The man doesn’t say anything, he only stares at Liam with eyes that are grey and hard; the coldness in them chilling Liam to the bone. He has never seen eyes like that before and he hopes he will never again.

“Once again, I’m really sorry,” Liam mumbles quickly and grabs his suitcase from where he dropped it before he starts running towards platform seven, Zayn right behind him.

Liam knows that Zayn didn’t see the man’s eyes; he had been too preoccupied with fussing over Liam like a mother hen. This sucks, because he wants to ask his boyfriend if his insides also turned to ice when the man looked at him. That man was seriously creepy; Liam just hopes that he won’t take the same train as him and his band mates.

When Liam and Zayn arrive at platform seven they slow down a bit and look at the numbers on the carriages in search for the one in which the rest of their group is waiting for them. After only two minutes they find the carriage they are looking for.

Not looking at the rest of the people on the platform they quickly mount the train. If Liam would have paid attention he would have seen a man looking around the platform with his grey, cold eyes before mounting the train heading to Gatwick Airport.


	3. Chapter 3

When their luggage is carefully put away in the cupboard above the seats, Zayn and Liam sit down next to Harry and Louis, and opposite Niall and Demi. A sharp whistle sounds outside the train, letting the people in the train and on the platform that the train is leaving in a few seconds.

“If you guys had been a couple of minutes later you would have missed the train,” Demi says with a chuckle.

“Thankfully we didn’t,” Liam says with a sigh and he puts his head on Zayn’s shoulder. He wiggles his bum a bit so he can sit comfortably.

“Liam here bumped into a guy when we were running for the train,” Zayn teases and he ruffles his boyfriend’s hair affectionately. Liam really likes it when Zayn runs his hands through his hair. It makes him relax, something he doesn’t do often enough.

“The man was a bit weird,.when I apologized he didn’t react. He just stared at me.” Liam decides not to tell his friends about the man’s eyes, not that he has words to describe how they looked, anyway.

“Maybe he didn’t speak English,” Niall’s offers.

Liam whisks Niall’s suggestion away with a shake of his head. “No, that wasn’t it. He did not react to my words, and he also didn’t react to bumping into me. He just stared at me.”

“Maybe he was a fan,” Louis jokes, obvious to Liam’s discomfort. “Maybe he was stunned because Liam from One Direction bumped into him.”

“No, that wasn’t it either. He didn’t show any emotion, he didn’t even look angry at me for bumpy into him. He was just weird.”

Zayn must have picked-up on the discomfort in Liam’s voice, because he squeezes his hand and starts on another subject. He asks the others what they look most forward to this vacation.

Liam snuggles closer to Zayn and closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the heat that his boyfriend radiates. Even though the dark-haired boy’s body is toned it feels really comfortable.

“Are you alright, babe?” Zayn asks with his mouth pressed against the top of Liam’s head. The others are talking about the trip, so they haven’t heard Zayn ask the question. “You seem to be bothered by the man who you bumped into. Is something wrong?”

“Nah. I’m just a bit weirded out by him, that’s all.” Liam’s shoulder bumps into Zayn’s arm as he shrugs it. “It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s nothing.”

Not wanting to think about the man with his slick black hair and cold, grey eyes Liam takes a deep breath and starts talking with his boyfriend about the last time they have been in Miami. It was one year ago and they had been there as a band.

They had performed on a beach festival and after their own performance they had strolled around the beach to listen to other performers. Zayn and Liam had just come out as a couple, so because their new –found freedom was so exciting, they walked hand in hand during the whole festival. Liam can still remember how amazing it felt to finally hold Zayn’s hand in public.

“Do you still remember that night when we went out of the hotel in disguise?” Zayn asks with a snicker, Liam’s head bumping against Zayn’s shoulders because they’re shaking. “You wore that ridiculous mustache.”

“I thought you liked it,” Liam pouts. He knows all too well that Zayn didn’t mean it when he had told him that the ‘stache looked good on him, but he likes to tease his boyfriend. “You said it made me look dapper.”

“I know but I didn’t tell you the truth. I had to convince you to sneak out of the hotel so I told a little white lie.”

Liam sits up in mock shock and looks at Zayn with comical wide eyes. “I’m shocked, Zayn Jawaad Malik. How can you lie about such a thing? A lot of people saw me with that ridiculous mustache. How will I ever trust you again?”

“I’m sorry, babe. How can I ever make it up to you?” Zayn pleads with a grin and with eyes shining with mirth. The sight caused a warm feeling to spread through Liam’s chest. Seeing the older boy happy always has this effect on him.

“You can wear the mustache the next time.”

“Who is wearing a mustache,” Niall suddenly butts in. Apparently he is done talking about the trip.

“Zayn is,” Liam chuckles and lifts his head from Zayn’s shoulder so that he can look at Niall. “The next time Zayn and I are going to sneak out of the hotel room he will be wearing a really big, black mustache.”

“Can’t wait to see how it looks on you, mate,” Harry snickers.

“It will look gorgeous on me. Everything looks good on me,” Zayn deadpans.

\--------------

While the boys continue teasing the dark-haired boy Demi turns to the houses passing by. The houses are very different from the ouses in America. Houses in London are older than houses in America and this is visible in the way they’re constructed.

A smile appears on Demi’s face as she remembers the first time she had gone to London. She had come to the old city to promote her album Unbroken with a performance. It had felt like she had walked through a history book.

And then she had started seeing Niall and she had become a frequent visitor. She went to London whenever her schedule permitted, and she and Niall rediscovered the city together.

The days she had spent browsing the little boutiques, visiting small pubs and discovering unknown restaurants with her boyfriend had caused her to fall in love with the city even more. She loves that she and Niall have a little restaurant what almost nobody knows about, where they can eat in piece and just be themselves.

Demi still can’t believe that she and Niall are together. She never thought she would feel the way she feels about him. Of course she always thought he was really cute and adorable, but their personalities were so different that she never thought they would fit together.

But thankfully she had been wrong. Their personalities do fit together because the balanced each other out. Demi’s sad and serious personality balances out Niall’s carefree and humorous personality. Niall’s carefree side has started rubbing off on her almost immediately, and now that they’re together for two years she’s a much happier person then before they started dating.

Demi still lives in America but she and Niall have been talking about buying a house in London and moving in together. They are still in the stage of discussion but the young woman knows it won’t stay in that stage for long. Both Niall and she know that they want this.

A sigh of content escapes the blonde’s lips as she looks at the five boys who are still bantering. They have become like a second family to her, just like the Jonas family once was. But unlike with the Jonas family, Demi knows Niall and his best friends will never hurt her. It’s because they have a history together that has made them strong together, unlike with Joe and his family.

\------------

The six people in the first class compartment aren’t aware of anything that’s happening outside their compartment and inside the train. They are unaware that five men are putting on black masks only a couple of feet away. They are unaware of the guns that these men carry. They are unaware that they’re in danger.

But that chances when a shot rings out and people start shouting. All six pop stars look at each other with alarm in their eyes and with hearts that are in the icy stranglehold of fear.

And then the train stops.


	4. Chapter 4

“What was that? What’s happening,” Harry yells out in panic, the sound of the shot still ringing in his ears. Harry’s hand is squeezing Louis’s hand quite tightly but his boyfriend is probably too shocked to feel the pressure on his hand. Harry feels numb himself.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that we better stay inside the compartment.” Liam seems calm even though he must be as scared as Harry on the inside. But that’s Liam for you, always the collected one when people need him to be. “We don’t know who fired the gun but there’s a massive chance it’s not a sane person.”

“But what if there are people out there who are hurt?” Demi asks with fear making her voice go to a higher pitch. “Don’t you think we should help?”

“We don’t know for sure if the shot was fired at anyone, so I think as long as we don’t know what’s going on we need to stay here.”

“We can’t find out what’s going on if we stay here,” Demi protests. Her eyebrows are furrowed in stubbornness and there is defiance now mixed with the fear in her eyes. Even though she’s a sweet girl she’s also hard headed. “One of us should check what’s going on.”

“Guys, I think we’re slowing down,” Niall suddenly announces and when Harry looks out of the window he sees that the Irish boy is speaking the truth. The trees lining the rails that have been rushing by the window at a rapid speed for the past hour are beginning to rush by in a decreasing speed.

“I think someone is hurt, why else would we slow down,” Demi reasons and she gives Liam a pointed look.

Niall’s girlfriend’s behavior is starting to get on Harry’s nerves. He’s scared as hell, they all are and for a good reason. Someone is shot, most likely for no reason other than that the killer is a loony, and Demi is suggesting they’re going to search the train for someone who may know what’s going on. What if the bump into the guy, something that most likely will happen since they’re in a closed-off space. They’ll be sitting ducks.

Both Louis and Zayn haven’t said anything yet, but Harry can see in the way that Zayn is leaning forward he’s preparing to butt in as soon as the tug of war between Liam and Demi gets too out of hand. Zayn’s brown eyes are wide with fear but also shining with admiration for his boyfriend’s calm under such a stressful situation. Zayn has told Harry that he likes this trait the most in his boyfriend.

Louis’s eyes are turned away from Harry and alter between fixing on Demi and on Liam. The older boy is most likely trying to decide whether Demi’s idea is better, or if Liam’s is. Louis doesn’t like to stand by while people get hurt but he doesn’t like to do things without thinking it true, at least when it comes to serious situations. As far as pranks go, he doesn’t really care too much about the consequences.

“They’re probably slowing down so they can investigate what’s going on,” Liam counters and he shoots Demi a warning look when he sees her move to get up.

“If they want to investigate what happened they wouldn’t stop the train, they would just send a ticket collector to find out for them.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Louis suddenly says and all heads snap in his direction. “Wouldn’t they tell us through the intercom why we’re slowing down? It doesn’t make sense.”

A cold chill runs down the youngest boy’s back at his boyfriend’s words, because what he’s saying is true. It’s strange that there hasn’t been an announcement by the metallic voice that always informs the passengers why there’s a delay, or why they stop moving. Under normal circumstances it would have informed the people on the train what’s going on by now.

Zayn’s eyes go wide and all the color drains from his face. It’s clear that Zayn has come up with a scenario about what has happened and it scares the shit out of the older boy. Harry has never seen Zayn this scared, even the time they were stuck in an elevator doesn’t compare.

“Zayn, what is it?” Harry asks softly and reluctantly, afraid of the answer.

“What if the train is hijacked?”

_The metal of the gun in Desmond’s hand feels cold and hard against his skin, a sensation the man with the barrel to his head must feel as well. Maybe he even feels it more clearly then Desmond, he has read in some magazine that fear heightens your senses._

_“Remember, don’t make the train stop suddenly if you want to live,” the dark-haired man hisses and he presses the barrel of his gun deeper to emphasize the impact of his words. “We don’t want the passengers know the train has been hijacked just yet.”_

_Even though Desmond isn’t a softy, his boss gives him the creeps. It’s clear that the man with his slick black hair and his piercing grey eyes feels no emotion accept hatred and greed. All he thinks about his making quick money and kill people who betray or work against him. There isn’t an ounce of love in his body, and the younger man doubts there ever was. Some people are born with no emotions, and with the devil inside of them. There’s nothing you can do about it._

_Because of his greed and hatred Jude, or Rocky Lucky as some call him, has risen in the Organization’s hierarchy quite rapidly because he enriched and scared the right people. He still isn’t the highest authority yet, but Desmond doubts it won’t be long before he is._

_When Desmond joined the organization he had been a broken, lonely lad with a record and a repeat offender status. The status more than anything was the reason why he joined. Because of it, he couldn’t find a job and almost immediately decided as he couldn’t get rid of his reputation he didn’t want to try to. Instead, he would give in to it and make money outside of the law._

_His cell buddy had told him about an organization he worked for and that it had made him really rich. He wouldn’t tell what the organization did, probably afraid of Desmond ratting him and his employers out for a reduced sentence, so he had only found out what the Organization did when he joined._

_“Desmond,” Jude barks, not taking his eyes off of the man who’s at the other end of his gun. “When the train has come to a stop, you and Nathan will check the compartments to see what we’ve caught and afterwards you come back to report to me.”_

_“Yes, sir,” Desmond replies with a curt nod of his head._

_“Derek, are the two ticket collectors still out?” Jude barks again as he signals with his head that he wants the blond man to check._

_The burly man, whom has a rifle in his head instead of a gun because he has a higher status than Desmond, walks over to the man and woman who are tight together with a rope that the hijackers brought with them, just in case._

_“They’re still unconscious, sir,” Derek reports after he has checked their faces. His voice is as rough and hard as his square face. He isn’t someone you want to meet in a dark alley._

_“Good. You’re in charge of making sure they stay that way.”_

_The train’s pace keeps getting slower by the second and after another ten minutes it comes to a standstill. With a menacing smile Jude hits the machinist with the barrel of his gun, as he has served his purpose as of now. The man drops to the floor unconscious._

_“Desmond go check on the passengers.”_

_Desmond doesn’t need to be told twice, knowing his boss doesn’t like waiting, so he quickly opens the door against which he’s standing and walks into the corridor of the train with his gun held in front of him._

_Before Desmond gets to the first compartment the little loud speakers build into the walls of the train crackle to life and Jude’s voice sounds through them._

_“Ladies and gentleman we are sorry for the delay. There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of being passengers on their way to Gatwick Airport, you’re now hostages. My name is Rocky Lucky and I’m your new machinist.”_

_Desmond chuckles at the clever way that Jude has told the people they’re now at his mercy. He might be a nutcase, he does have style._

_When Desmond passes the compartments people cower back when they see the gun in his hands and he looks back at them with a bored look on his face, knowing that this scares people the most._

_Desmond doesn’t see anything interesting until he comes to the second of the first-class compartments. Inside this compartment he sees five faces look back at him that he recognizes from the many teen magazines he has come across for the past two years. Apparently One Direction is on the train they hijacked. Jude is really going to like this news._


	5. Chapter 5

Louis has never been more scared in his short life as he’s now. He did not only hear that the train he and his friends are on has been hijacked but one of the persons responsible is now looking at them with menacing eyes and a grin that chills the boy to the bone.

But that wasn’t even the most scary part. The most scary part is that the man is holding a gun. A gun that is pointed at the six people in the compartment. What if the maniac decides to shoot one of them. One less passenger to use as leverage isn’t probably a big deal for people like them.

“Do you know why he’s looking at us like that?” Harry whispers into Louis’s ear with a quivering voice. The older boy puts an arm around his boyfriend’s waist to let him know he’s there for him.

“He’s probably trying to establish how much we’re worth and how much trouble we’re going to cost him and his buddies.” Louis wishes he could have told Harry that he didn’t know but he knows it’s for the best that he’s honest. Lying won’t soften the situation they’re in.

“Do you think being famous is an advantage?” Harry asks while he lays his head in the crook of Louis’s neck so he doesn’t have to look at the man that’s still standing in front of the door

“I guess we’re going to find out.”

The man in front of the door suddenly walks away and Louis isn’t sure if he should be relieved or scared. His body seems to relax a bit but he’s mind tells him not too.

“For the first time I hate to be right,” Zayn suddenly jokes with a shaky voice and all five of his friends smile, despite the tense situation.

“Harry, love. The man is gone,” Louis whispers in his ear and Harry lifts his head from Louis’s shoulder. The fear is clear in his emerald eyes and Louis would give anything to take it away.

“I don’t get what the hijackers want or why they’ve hijacked this train,” Liam mutters as he wrings his hands together. All heads turn in his direction. “I mean, we’re just outside London. The police will have the train surrounded in minutes.”

“What if that’s exactly what they want?” Demi offers. She isn’t pressed as close as possible against Niall, like other girls probably would. She isn’t trying to find comfort with her boyfriend. Instead she’s tries to be strong with only a little help from Niall – his hand holding hers is giving her all the strength she needs. Demi is a strong person, something Louis found out when she and Niall started dating.   
“What do you mean?” Zayn asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Before Demi can clarify what she means the door that leads to the corridor is suddenly opened and all heads snap in its direction. Fear reestablishes its stranglehold on Louis when he sees that two hijackers have entered.

“I’m glad my passengers are alright,” one of the two people that have entered says with a voice that’s filled with hate. Apparently he’s the one that spoke over the intercom. Behind him stands the man with the cold eyes that had been eyeing Louis and his friends before. He must have walked away to get his boss. “You’ll be no good to me damaged.”

“My friend here tells me you guys are famous,” the boss continues and his grin grows bigger. Louis can feel the cold hand of fear grab his heart as he realizes that Harry’s question is now answered. The boss seems to like it that they’re famous, which means they’re going to get in trouble for being so. “He tells me you six are really popular with the teens. I really hope it’s true because it means more people will want to see you alive, which in turn means more people are willing to give in to my demands. It must be my lucky day.”

_Meanwhile people don’t know a train is hijacked. None of the families of the people on the train know in what kind of danger their loved-ones are in. They go on with their life while their sons, mothers, daughters and other people they care about fear for their lives._

_One of those people is Madison. She’s Demi’s little sister and she doesn’t know her sister is held hostage. She thinks Demi is on her way to the airport with her boyfriend and his friends and will be on a plane in a few hours._

_So when the telephone rings she doesn’t suspect a thing and answers the phone with a cheerful, “Madison speaking. What can I do for you?”_

_“Can I speak to Dianna de la Garza?” a woman asks with a formal voice._

_“Of course, I can get her for you,” Madison replies and because she still doesn’t suspect that something awful is going on she skips up the stairs to get her mother._

_“Mom, a woman is on the phone and she wants to talk to you,” the young girl announces as she walks into the room where her mother is sitting behind her desk._

_“What did she says she was from?” Dianna asks her daughter as she holds out her hand so that Madison can give her the phone._

_“She didn’t say,” she admits as she lays the phone in her mother’s hand. “but she sounded really formal and not in an reporter way.” The Lovato - de la Garza household has learned to distinguish reporters from other people who speak formal._

_“Alright,” Dianna says as she smiles at her daughter. “Thank you.”_

_Dianna presses the phone against her ear and says, “This is Dianna speaking.”_

_Madison knows she should leave so her mother and whoever is on the other end can speak in peace but something insider of her tells her to stay. It isn’t a voice in the back of her head but more of a pulling feeling in her gut._

_Her mother’s face suddenly goes as white as a sheet and her whole body goes rigid. The person talking to her through the phone has told her something that scares her really bad._

_Her daughter takes a step closer as she tries to ask her mother what’s going on with her eyes. Her attempts are futile because Dianna isn’t looking at her. Her eyes are looking unfocused as her lips form words._

_“W…w… when are they going to tell the police what they want?” the older female asks with a quivering voice. Her hands are shaking and tears are starting to fall from her eyes._

_Maddison freeze when she hears her mother utter these words because they can only mean one thing. She has seen enough movies to know they can only mean one thing. Someone from her family is kidnapped. But who?_

_She gets the answer to her question when her mother suddenly hisses into the phone, “How is it that people can hijack a train just outside London?”_

_London, the city her sister Demi has been visiting as many times as possible for the past two years. The city she has left this morning with a train that would take her to the airport. Demi is the one who’s in danger._

_The next person who’s called by the police is Bobby Horan, Niall’s father. He’s watching a movie with her new girlfriend when the phone rings._

_“I’m sorry babe but it can be my boss,” Bobby apologizes as he pauses the movie in the middle of a crucial moment in the movie. He knows Barbara doesn’t like it when movies are paused for whatever reason._

_“Just get it,” the brunette sighs and she gestures her boyfriend to walk to the phone. “I’ll just get some more popcorn.”_

_Bobby gives her a quick kiss before he stands up from the couch and walks to the phone. He quickly presses the green button and puts the phone to his ear. “This is Bobby Horan speaking. Who are I speaking with?”_

_“Hello, Mr. Horan. This is Sergeant Muller from the London Police,” a woman on the other end announces. “We’re sorry to tell you the train your son is one has been hijacked.”_

_The phone almost falls from Bobby’s suddenly sweaty hand but strength returns to his hand before it does. His legs, however have given out and he’s now sitting on the floor._

_“How… why…” is all the shocked father can say as the fear gripping his body has made it almost impossible to either talk or think. All he can think about is that his youngest son is in grave danger._

_“The hijackers haven’t made any demands yet but they will make them soon. We’ll let you know when they have as soon as possible. We’re really sorry.”_

_Barbara must have heard the thud when Bobby fell down because she comes running out of the kitchen with worry spread out all over her face. She immediately spots him sitting on the floor with the phone to his ear and she runs to him._

_“Darling, what the matter?” the brunette asks with a scared voice, ignoring the fact that her boyfriend is on the phone. She needs to know what has shocked him so much._

_“Niall…” is all Bob can say before the shock suddenly leaves his body and he’s able to feel again. Despair comes crashing down on him and robs him from his breath and his composure. He begins to cry uncontrollably and Barbara takes him into her arms._

_“It’s alright. It’s alright,” the woman mutters as she strokes Bob’s back in an effort to calm him down. She wants to say that everything is going to be alright but she can’t because she doesn’t know what has happened to her boyfriend’s son. If he has died it’s not possible that things are going to be okay. She just hopes this isn’t the case because she cares about Niall as well as Bob. She doesn’t want anything bad to happen to the both of them._

_It takes Bob half an hour to calm down and even then he’s still trembling and unable to form coherent sentences. Barbara helps him stand up and escorts him to the couch. When he sits safely on the couch she goes back to where the phone is lying on the ground and puts it back where it belongs._

_After the Horan family the police calls four more families and all of them have a similar reaction. They’re hurt that something this horrible is happening to their loved-one and they’re scared how it will end. They hope that the person they hold so dearly will survive the tragedy but they’re afraid to hope because they’re afraid it’s in vain._

_Tears are shed and words of comfort are muttered. Some people faint, others only cry for what feels like hours. Both hurt and despair is felt._

_All six families hope but fear the worst._


	6. Chapter 6

Zayn has always liked venturing into the unknown. He liked the thrill of not knowing what was ahead and the danger that this sometimes brought. He was never scared to try things because he didn’t know the outcome of them. Life would be dull if you didn’t take chances. 

Auditioning for the X-Factor had been one of these things. He didn’t know if he would succeed and what would happen if he did. A singing career was full of risks and chances, you don’t know where the road of fame will take you.

His relationship with Liam was another example. When he and his boyfriend had started dating they didn’t know where it would take them. They didn’t know how their family, friends and fans would react when they would find out but Zayn hadn’t cared, it had just made it more exciting.

Today, however, Zayn hates that he doesn’t know what’s up ahead. He hates that he doesn’t know what these two masked man want from him and his friends or what they want to achieve by hijacking this train. He hates not knowing.

“As most people in our line of trade, we have demands and three of you are going to help us broadcast them ,” the boss explains. His henchman have sky masks on but he has a mask that usually only worn by super heroes in comic books. He’s probably wearing this mask because it doesn’t cover his face and he’s able to intimidate people with his evil smile. 

“What if we refuse,” Liam asks. He looks at the boss with hard eyes and a clenched jaw. He wants the hijacker to believe that he isn’t afraid of him, that he’s got backbone. 

Zayn grabs his boyfriend’s hand. He isn’t sure if it’s because he wants to let him know Liam thinks what he’s doing is really brave or because he wants to remind him that what he’s doing might put them in danger.

“I don’t think you have much choice. We’ve got guns, my dear boy, and we’re not afraid to use them to get what we want.” The man next to the boss cocks back the hammer of his revolver and the click helps the six hostages remember what the two men are carrying. 

“So, unless you want me to shout one of you, you,” the boss points his finger at Harry, “you,” the pointer finger goes to Demi, “and you,” the finger points at Zayn – his throat suddenly very dry, “are going to help me make a little video. The girl will hold the camera while the boys tell the world our demands.” 

Zayn thinks it’s strange that they want Demi to film him and Harry but he doesn’t dare to ask. The boss is clearly not right in the head and you never know with these kind of people do when they get mad. He might have reacted to his boyfriend standing up to him with a smile but he might not do the same if Zayn asks what he probably thinks is a stupid question.

“Why do you need Demi to film Zayn and Harry.” The same question apparently had popped up in Niall’s head but he doesn’t seem to have the same fears as Zayn about asking it.

“I wants as many people involved as possible,” the boss says with a sadistic smile. “I want it to be a group project. The more, the merrier I believe the saying goes.” 

Do Zayn’s parents, or the parents of the other boys for that matter, know that their train has been hijacked? The authorities must know that something has happened to the train. It can’t come to a standstill halfway down his route without alerting the people sitting behind the control panel of the trains – the ones who check of the trains keep to their routes and arrive at their destination in time – that something has gone wrong. 

If they know what has happened, Zayn can’t imagine what his parents and sisters must be going through, knowing he’s in a dangerous situation but not knowing if he’s alright. Wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t know of the danger he is in. It’s not as if they’re able to help him or something. Isn’t it better that they think he’s alive until people tell them otherwise then that they’re in constant fear of his life. 

“But enough chit chat, it’s time to make the movie.” The smile slips from the boss’s face as quick as a flash of light and he gives his henchmen curt nods. “Ross, Desmond. Grab the children.” 

And of course the bulky men with their black masks are as rough as possible when they grab Harry, Zayn and Demi. One of them hauls Harry and Zayn from their seats using a lot of force. Zayn winches from the sharp pain. 

“Please, don’t hurt him,” Zayn hears Liam whimper, even though he must know the man won’t adhere to his request – hostage takers are never careful with their hostages. They don’t always kill them but they never shy away from using brutal force. 

The man holding Harry and Zayn has holstered his gun, but they don’t try to overpower him because the man holding Demi has a gun pressed to her temple. 

“I don’t have to tell you what will happen if you try to escape or something else equally stupid. One move and Ross here blows the pretty girl’s brain out.” The boss runs a hand through Demi’s blonde hair when he says this and she lets out a whimper. 

“Keep your hands off of her,” Niall hisses and when Zayn looks at him, he can see that the blonde Irishman is sitting on his seat with clinched fists and his eyes are spitting fire. Niall has always been very protective of his girlfriend, even though he knows she can stand up for herself easily. It just comes naturally to him, he once told Zayn. He has been raised to look after the women in his life and it’s wired into his system. 

“Or what?” the boss sneers and he grabs Demi by the chin to taunt her boyfriend. “Desmond will shoot you down before you can lay a hand on me. If I decide to have a little fun with your girlfriend, there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” 

“Bastard,” Niall shouts as his whole face turns red with anger. He moves forward is if he’s going to strangle the guy but he stops himself. The masked guy will most likely make good on his promise and shoot Demi in the head before her boyfriend can even lay a hand on him. 

“You know, if I decide to have my way with your girl, she’s going to thank me,” the man continues taunting Niall with a snicker. “She’ll thank me for showing her what it’s like to have sex with a real man. I really don’t know what she’s doing with a scrawny kid like you.”

Zayn can’t imagine what Niall must be going through, hearing the plans the guy has for the one he loves and being unable to do anything about it. If the gun had been pointed at him, he probably wouldn’t have cared, but the gun was pointed at Demi’s head so there is no chance of an heroic saving. 

“Now, let’s go. Let’s make that movie,” the boss announces and the man with the grip on Demi’s arm begins to drag her to the door of the compartment. The man holding Zayn and Harry’s arms follows. 

Zayn can see Demi mouth something to Niall but he can’t see what she’s saying. It’s probably something along the lines of  I love you’ or ‘I’m gonna be alright’.

There are tears running down Liam’s cheek and he’s shaking all over when Zayn turns his head to look at his boyfriend as he’s being dragged through the door. The sight breaks his heart because he has never seen the younger boy this scared. He looks like a kicked puppy and Zayn would do anything to never see that look on his face again. 

‘I’m going to be alright,’ Zayn mouths to Liam because even though the boss said they would only make a movie about the demands they now know there may be other things the horrible man wants to do with them. His thread about raping Demi has woken them to that possibility. 

Zayn can’t see Liam’s reacting to his words, as he’s dragged into the corridor before he’s able to. He just hopes it has given the love of his life some comfort. 

_The girl is quite a sight. He wasn’t lying when he told the blonde, scrawny boy he didn’t know what his girlfriend was doing with him. A voluptuous woman like her should be with a guy with muscles, not some guy who looks like he just started high school. He must be really good in the sack or something – even though the boss doubts it._

_“It’s no use if you keep shaking, “ one of the guys in the boss’s employment snaps at the shaking girl. He still has his gun pointed at her head. The boss can see Demi wants to make a retort back but the cold metal against her temple stops her._

_“I think she needs my help,” the boss says with a chuckle. He walks up behind her and the man with the gun moves a bit aside so his employer can stand flush against her back and take a hold of her hands to steady them._

_He takes in her scent as he pushes the play button of the digital camera. She smells really nice and she feels amazing pressed against him. How amazing would the rest of her feel? As the boy with the dark hair says the line they told him to say the boss’s hands begin to wonder. But they come to a standstill when Demi’s hands and with them the camera begins to shake._

_The boss guesses he needs to wait for her to finish filming before he can explore the rest of her tan body. How would she feel pressed beneath him? Begging him to stop as he pounds into her?_

_“This is what we demand of the English government,” the boy with curly hair with tears in his eyes says. His lower lip begins to tremble and when he says the next sentence, his voice is just as stable. “If what we asked for hasn’t been done in the appointed time, people will be killed.”_

_The boss pushes the button that stops the camera from filming and tells the boys that they’re done. He can see the relieve in their eyes because they think they’re going back to their compartment and their fellow travelers and he can’t stop himself from smiling at their false hope._

_“You’re not going back to your friends and boyfriends, though,” he tells them gleefully and he can see their faces fall. “You are the trump card in my deck of hostages. I want you near me. When they don’t give in to my demands, one of you is the first one who will be shot.”_

_Both the Zayn and the Harry boy become as pale as a ghost, sucking in a sudden breath in shock. The girl in the boss’s arms begins to shake violently._

_“Don’t be afraid Demi,” the boss chuckles. He wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her even closer to him. “I won’t shoot you the first. I want to have fun with you as long as possible.”_

_Demi lets out a sobbing yelp as the boss shoves a hand between her legs._


	7. Chapter 7

People do anything to survive. They take risk, face down dangers or even sometimes sell out other people in the hope to live another day. It´s part of an age-old instincts they haven’t shaken despite their so-called rationalism.

This instinct sometimes saves you but it can also put you three feet in the ground. Sometimes taking a risk pays of, sometimes it doesn’t. 

The people from the front compartment knew what they were getting into. They knew they were outnumbered when it came to weapons and that their plan had only a small chance of succeeding but they had no choice. They didn’t want to wait idly for someone to get shot as they themselves could be among them. 

They hadn’t had the opportunity to make their plan waterproof and maybe that had been the reason why it didn’t work. They tried to overpower one of the masked men so they could take his weapon with which they could attack the other men, but he hadn’t been as easily overpowered as they had hoped.

He had been able to ward them off until another man had come to his aid. He had shot one of the attackers in the head and it had stopped his fellow self-proclaimed martyrs dead in their tracks. They had immediately back-off with faces pale with fright when he barked at them to stop if they didn’t want a bloody bullet in their heads as well. 

The man who had been attacked had contacted his boss by an old-fashioned walky-talky, while glaring at the passengers that had attacked him, and had told him what happened and had asked him what he wanted him to do with the troublemakers. 

Because the passengers were of no value to him dead, he told his henchman that he did well by killing one of the troublemakers because he could serve as an example of what would happen to people who tried to rebel, but that he shouldn’t kill any more. 

The sound the gun made when it fired the bullet had been heard throughout the train. It had ricochet of the walls and had filtered through in each compartment. Everybody heard the sounds and they reacted in different ways. Some people screamed, some started to cry but all of them were secretly happy it wasn’t them. They felt sorry for whomever was shut but they also felt relieved. 

When Niall, Liam and Louis heard the shot they had been huddled together. They had wanted to comfort each other because each of them knew what the others were going through. Their better halves were in mortal danger and they couldn’t do anything about it.

They had fallen in each other’s arms right after the masked men had left with Demi, Harry and Zayn because they knew that’s what the others needed. They have grown in tune with each other throughout the years because they spent so much time together and this had enabled them to know what the other boys needed without them having to say anything. 

“What was that?” Niall exclaimed anxiously as he shut up from where he had buried his head in Liam’s chest. His blue eyes were wide with fear and his lashes were glued to each other with tears. “It sounded like a gun shot. But it can’t be. We are no use to him dead. It isn’t going to shoot us, he hasn’t made his demands yet.”

“How do you know that?” Louis whimpered as he tugged at Niall’s shirt with clammy hands. His face was downcast and he was crying as well. The blonde had never heard his friend’s voice sound like that before and it broke his heart. Louis being just as scared and down-trodden as he was made the vital organ ache painfully. “How did you know he hasn’t already made his demands? It has been thirty minutes since they’ve taken Harry, Zayn and Demi. It doesn’t take long to make a ransom movie.”

“Louis, they may have announced their demands, but whomever they want something from hasn’t had enough time to do whatever they want him to do,” Liam admonished the feather-haired boy softly, without animosity. He didn’t want Louis to scare Niall or himself even farther. “I think they just shut at the ceiling to scare us so we won’t try to overpower them or something?”

“Or maybe they just shot at a random person to do that,” Louis replied while he began to shake his head. Niall could feel him starting to shake violently as he could no longer fight the fear that was coursing through his body. “Or maybe they shot Harry.” 

“He won’t kill one of us. We are his triumph card, remember,” Liam reasoned with his band mate. he laid his hand on Louis’ back carefully and when the older boy didn’t flinch, he started rubbing in soothing circles.

Liam tried to appear not scared out of his wits while on the inside he was freaking out. He was worried about the boys and Demi because even though the hijackers wouldn’t kill the boys or Demi, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t resort to hurting them. What if indeed they had shot at Demi, Harry or Zayn but without killing them? Disappear spreads throughout Liam’s body at the thought alone.

What Liam didn’t know was that he was right on one account. One of his friends was being tortured, but not with a gun. 

Demi had never felt such pain or shame, not even when she was bullied back at high school. She didn’t know if she could survive this, being treated as something worthless and only meant to hurt her friends. They have to watch as her humanity is taken away from her. 

She would have mouthed to Zayn and Harry how sorry she was if she had the courage to turn her head to look at them. She wanted them to know how sorry she was that they had to witness her destruction but the shame is too much.

“Your boyfriend is one lucky bastard,” the boss taunts Demi as he pounds into her and makes her walls bleed. “When he dumps you after this, you won’t have a problem selling your body like the slut you are.” 

“Please, don’t,” Demi whimpered through her sobs. Her whole face was wet with tears that started falling when he had entered her. 

“Please, what? Don’t you want me to call you a slut?” The boss snickered, the sound another ball to her dignity. She wondered how much of it she would have left after he’s done with her. “But you are a slut. I bet you wish I would let my boys have their way with you as well. I just call them as they are.” 

“Leave her alone,” Zayn suddenly screamed the threat of the gun behind him forgotten. He could no longer watch Demi being raped and doing nothing. “You have no right to say those things to her.” 

He’s immediately clocked by the man with the gun behind him, a sharp pain shoots through his skull at the impact. The world swims before his eyes for a good few seconds. 

“I wouldn’t say anything if I were you,” the boss tells Zayn with a cold voice, his words mingled with filthy moans. “Unless you want a bullet in your leg.”

Zayn would have liked to say he was heroic and had told the boss to shove it and that he wouldn’t stop yelling at him until he left Demi alone but he wasn’t, so he didn’t say any of these things. Instead, he coward back because he was scared. 

Zayn might have lacked the courage to stand up for the people he loved, but that hadn’t been the case when it came to his boyfriend.

One of the masked men had walked to the compartment where the rest of One Direction was still huddled together because he wanted to tell Niall what they were doing to his girlfriend. He couldn’t wait to see the despair and anger on the blonde’s face.

All three boys in the compartment had looked up when he had opened the door and their faces had fallen because they had hoped their loved-ones had returned. 

“I thought I should pay a visit, to tell you, Niall, that your girlfriend is very entertaining ,” the man says as he grins behind his mask. “The boss is really enjoying her. She’s quite the slut.” 

It wasn’t Niall who reacted first, it’s Liam who exploded and attacked the man that was tormenting his friend. He didn’t think about the gun in the man’s hand because all he had seen was red. 

The man had been surprised by the first blow but he had recovered quickly. Before Liam could give another blow to his jaw, the older male had rammed his fist into his stomach. He had doubled over and his opponent had used his defenseless to his advantage and kneed him in the face. A crack could be heard when his nose broke. 

The pain was too much for Liam’s body and he slumped to the ground as his legs gave out. Blood was running down his mouth and chin and he was clutching his stomach as he laid dazed on the ground. 

“How dare you attack me, you piece of filth,” the man raged with eyes that were shooting fore. His gun was trained on Liam’s limp body and Liam’s friends hearts became cold as they realized the man might shoot him despite his boss’s orders. There was clearly murder in his eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

When the night falls, Demi, Harry and Zayn still haven’t returned to the compartment. Liam, Niall and Louis have no way to know if they are save or not and that causes Liam more pain than the cuts and bruises on his body do. The ache in his bones and muscles don’t compare to the ache in his heart from not knowing if his friends or boyfriends are save.

The man with the mask who Liam had angered, has kicked every inch of his body, from his feet to his head and had only stopped after he had blacked-out. He seemed to have been able to take control of himself again after Liam’s body had become limp from the blows it had been given. 

Liam had woken up to his whole body aching, a warm liquid pooling on his forehead and Louis stroking his hair softly while cradling his head in his lap. There had been tears in his blue eyes that hadn’t stop falling when Liam had opened his eyes. He didn’t even smile, all he did was whisper that he was sorry. 

It broke Liam’s heart that Louis blamed himself for the state he was in because there was nothing that he could have done. The man had held Liam at gun point, if Louis had tried to safe him, he would have shut Liam without a second thought. Liam had seen murder in the man’s eyes and he had known he was only looking for an excuse to put a bullet in Liam.

Niall hadn’t been in sight, but Liam had heard him. The younger boy had been sitting on the couch out of Liam’s field of vision, curled up in a ball of misery. What had happened to Liam and the news about what happened to Demi had been too much for him to handle and all his body and mind had been able to handle was crying his eyes out. 

Despite his own injuries, Liam had wanted to comfort Niall. He had tried to ignore the agony his body was in and tried to move to stand up, but as soon as he even moved an inch, a sharp pain had shut through his body and had paralyzed him; he didn’t even have the power to go back to his previous position. 

Louis had muttered he shouldn’t move because he could have internal bleeding. Movement would only make it worse, so he shouldn’t move. He couldn’t go to sleep either because he could have a conscious and if he felt asleep, he might not wake up again.

Once again Louis had shown Liam he could be responsible despite his cheeky attitude. He could act his age if it was needed. The younger boy could be venerable for a moment because Louis could be strong for him.

Liam had asked him to tell him how bad of a shape his body was in, as he couldn’t see for himself die to the pain making it impossible for him to move. He had pleaded with him to be honest with him because if there was any permanent damage, he needed to know. 

Louis’s voice had been almost inaudible when he told the injuries he had found when he had checked what damage the hijacker had done to his body. What the older male tells Liam isn’t good, not at all. 

His torso was covered in bruises, all of them large and too blue. His rib cage was disfigured which must surely mean more than one rib is broken. His face was littered with cuts, which would explain the warm liquid slowly trickling down his cheeks. Louis whimpers when he tells Liam’s hair is soaked with blood but that it’s probably worse than it looked because he seemed to remember from ER that a head injury cause a lot of blood but most of the time isn’t too serious. 

Liam had asked how Niall was doing. He was worried about the younger boy but because he couldn’t move without suffering excruciating pain, he had to ask Louis about it.

The older male told Liam that Niall was still in shock. When the man had stopped beating Liam, Nick had collapsed like a was a poppet who’s strings were cut and had curled into a ball, murmuring both Liam’s and Demi’s names over and over again. 

Louis had tried to talk to him after he had been sure Liam wasn’t in danger of choking on his own blood, but the Irish lad had been irresponsive. He had been in a complete catatonic state and there wasn’t anything Louis could do than take him in his arms in the hope he could calm the other lad down.

Eventually, Niall had relaxed enough for Louis to softly push him up and on the couch. But as soon as Niall was sitting on the couch, he curled up in a tense ball again and they were almost back to square one. 

Louis had realized that wasn’t much more he could do for Niall, so he had crawled back to Liam’s limp body and had laid his head in his lap, bringing him back to consciousness in the progress.

Fatigue caused by his injuries press down on Liam’s eyelids and makes them drop back over his eyes. He knows he shouldn’t go to sleep because they can be almost sure that he has a concussion but he can’t fight the tiredness. 

Louis of course sees Liam close his eyes and he immediately taps him on the cheek. “Hey, Liam. Don’t you fall asleep on me. You know you can’t, you might slip into a coma.”

“But I’m tired,” the younger boy slurs. He looks at the older male with the puppy dog look he’s so famous for and it would have made Louis give in if he wasn’t so worried about Liam’s safety.

 

“I’ll talk to you,” Louis proposes with a tight smile. “I will keep you awake with my wicked jokes and awesome anecdotes.”

Louis doesn’t wait for his friend to react, knowing he’s going to protest, and starts with an anecdote about the first prank he pulled. 

Halfway through the third story, Liam suddenly hears footsteps on the train corridor and he jerks in shock. Behind him Louis freezes and the arm that he has wrapped around the younger boy’s waist squeezing him a little tighter, as if he wants him to know that he will protect them if the hijackers will try to attack Liam again. Niall has stopped whimpering as well.

“I wonder how long the boss will be patient this time,” a rumbling voice sounds from the lit corridor. 

Liam doesn’t recognize the voice, which means this hijacker is one he hadn’t met yet. This scares him because it means there are even more of them. 

“I think it won’t wear thin soon,” a second voice says with a chuckle. Liam recognizes it as belonging to the hijacker that had beat him up. Panic creeps into Liam’s lunges because hearing his voice makes him fear that the man will come in the compartment and finish what he started.

“Liam, please don’t,” Louis pleads in a scared voice. He’s talking softly so the men outside the door won’t hear. “He isn’t going to hurt you again, I won’t let him.”

“I don’t think so either. I mean, he has that Demi chick to entertain himself. I wonder if he will let us have a go.”

“Filthy animals,” Niall sounds suddenly and Louis almost jumps from shock. 

But shock immediately is replaced by panic because the hijacker won’t let Niall yell at them like that. They are going to come inside and going to give Niall the same treatment they had given Liam. And maybe this time they won’t stop when their victim is unconscious. 

Niall jumps from the couch and makes for the door, but his band mate’s voice stops him. He turns his head to look at him with angry, tearstained eyes. The blonde Irishman has never looked this mad before.

“Please, Niall. Don’t provoke them,” Louis begs Niall.“They’re going to beat you, like they did with Liam.”

“They’re talking about Demi like she’s a whore,” Niall shouts, his hands balled into fists. “They’re raping her and there’s nothing I can do. I want to tell them how I feel about what they’re doing to her, I don’t care if they beat me up.”

“I will talk about your filthy slut of a girlfriend any way I want to,” Liam’s tormentor suddenly interjects. Of course he has heard what Niall shouted to Louis. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Try me,” Niall angrily shouts back. 

“You boys sure have a fighter spirit in you,” the other man chucker. “It’s a shame one of you will be the first to go when the boss doesn’t get what he wants. I believe it’s Harry he’s going to put a bullet in first.”

At these words, Louis’s whole world come crashing down. A wave of emotions crashes through his body, leaving nothing behind. He can’t feel anything anymore and the world outside his head is nothing but a blur. 

They are going to kill Harry, the one person he could never live without.

_While Louis is losing the ability to be strong for his two best friends, his mother and siblings are watching the news anxiously with the phone within reach. They haven´t hear from the police since they called to tell them about the hijack and this scares Louis´s mother, Jay. It scares her because it means they haven´t made any progress in getting control over the hostage situation._

_But what scares her even more is not being able to tell her youngest daughters their brother’s going to be alright. Her two older daughters try to carry their fear on their own, but the two youngest still need her to lighten it, they still need reassuring. The twins still need her to tell them that the police are close to rescuing Louis and that he will be safely back home in a few hours, but she can’t._

_“Is Louis going to be alright?” Daisy suddenly asks from where she’s tucked under Jay’s arm. She looks at her mother with eyes that beg her to tell her that things will end well._

_“The police are trying their best,” Jay tells her daughter. She is going to remain optimistic for her daughters’ sakes but she isn’t going to lie to them. She doesn’t want them to shatter completely if Louis doesn’t survive – it’s a possibility, no matter how horrible the thought is – because she gave them false hope. She can’t do that to them._

_“And the police is going to safe him, right?” the eight-year-old’s lower lip trembles as she asks the question. “They always safe people.”_

_She looks so fragile and like the small baby she used to be. It’s a heartbreaking sight and Jay can’t bear to see it any longer; she pulls her daughter closer and kisses her on the end while she closes her eyes._

_“They’re going to try to safe him,” Jay whispers into her hair. “They will try to stop the man with the guns from hurting Lou.”_

_“Mom, maybe Daisy and Phoebe should go to bed,” Lottie softly suggests as if she’s afraid her mother is going to snap at her. “If something happens we can always wake them.”_

_Where her older brother acted like a child Lottie acted older than her age. While Louis is cheeky, Lottie is reserved and their mother sometimes wonders if they were born in the wrong order, if maybe Louis should have been born after Lottie._

_“I suppose you’re right,” Jay admits with a sigh. Daisy’s sister Phoebe has already fallen asleep under her other arm and it’s late, if the hijack hadn’t happened they would be sleeping in their beds for hours at 2 AM. They’re still young and need their sleep._

_“I will bring them to bed,” the mother decides. She turns her head to her oldest daughter and gives her a thankful smile. Having a teenage daughter might be a handful sometimes, but at times like this, Jay is glad her daughter is the age she is. She can be a support to her if she needs one. “Yell for me if something happens.”_

_“I will,” Lottie promises her mother. “I will come and get you if the news anchor tells something new.”_

_“Thank you,” Jay whispers._

_The mother stands up from the couch and puts her youngest daughter on her hip and takes the hand of the older twin. The small girl doesn’t protest like she usually does when her mother starts walking towards the stairs because she’s really tired._

_But Jay has only barely taken two steps when the voice of the news reader once again resounds through the room and announces that a hostage video has been released and that both Harry and Zayn of One Direction are in it._

_Harry’s family is doing the same as Louis’s. They have been in front of the small TV for hours in the hope that they would hear some good news, hear that the police is closer to rescuing Harry and the other people on the train. But every news broadcast the story told is always the same, a train just outside London was hijacked and there’s no news about what the hijackers want._

_Harry’s father hasn’t called yet and it makes Gemma angry. The police told her mother that they would inform him about the situation, so he knows what’s happening to his son and he doesn’t even has the decency to check how she and her mother are doing._

_When her parents divorced, Gemma was angry at both of them, as was Harry. They couldn’t believe their parents gave up without really trying to meant things – that’s what they thought at the time – but eventually she forgave her mother. She could see how much it was hurting her and that she was trying to make it as easy as possible for both her and Harry._

_But their father hadn’t been so considered. He had seemed like he didn’t care what the divorce was doing to his children, that he only was interested in getting out of the marriage as soon as possible. He didn’t even fight for shared custody._

_Years of not getting a phone call from her dad on her birthday, Gemma had stopped hoping and Harry had eventually done the same. They didn’t want to waste their time with someone who obviously wanted nothing to do with them instead of with the people who did care._

_But this isn’t a birthday. Harry isn’t going to get a year older, he is been held hostage and he might never have a birthday again. His son is in mortal danger and their father doesn’t even bother to pick up the phone to offer Gemma or her mother is sympathy or support._

_“Why aren’t the police calling?” Gemma’s mother, Anne, asks no one in particular. The cat on her lap turns its head to her at the sound of her raspy voice – Anne hasn’t stopped crying ever since she found out what happened to Harry. “Don’t they understand we need to know what’s going on?”_

_As if God heard the distressed mother’s question, the phone rings. She immediately grabs it from where it’s lying on the small table next to the couch and answers it with a breathy ‘hello’._

_Anne stops sniffling for a moment as the person on the other end of the line says something to her. Her eyes light up a little and it makes Gemma dare to hope._

_“How long will it take for you to reach the train?” Anne asks, her voice breaking at the last syllable._

_A nod is the only indication for Gemma that the person at the other end has answered her mother’s question._

_“Just make sure they don’t see you. They’re going to kill my son and his friends if they know they won’t get what they want.” Tears have started to run down Anne’s face again and she starts shaking. “Don’t let them hurt him.”_

_Gemma wraps his arms around her mother, because she can’t see her broken like that. She needs to know she’s going to be there for her until Harry is safely back home. They are going to take care of each other like they have done these past hours._


	9. Chapter 9

Louis doesn’t want Harry to die. He doesn’t want the lanky lad with a bright light in his emerald eyes to not see another morning, he doesn’t want him to die like this. He is supposed to die in a bed with Louis holding his old, wrinkled hand, not in the a dirty train at the hand of a fucked-in-the-head man with a mask.

If only he was able to safe the younger male. Now more than ever he wishes he had some super power or maybe a training as a spy so he could go in guns a blazing and stop the men from hurting his boyfriend. 

But he doesn’t have does. He’s just a pop star with no knowledge of weapons or kungfu moves. If he would try to overpower the hijackers standing in front their compartment he will get killed. There’s no way he can win if he uses force.

When actions are no help, you can try to solve a situation with words and that is what Louis does. He know he’s clutching at straws but he will try anything to save Harry. 

“I want to take Harry’s place. Bring me to your boss and let me take Harry’s place.” 

Liam stiffens in Louis’ lap and Niall stops yelling and banging on the door. Their eyes are wide and in them there’s panic and desperation. They just heard that one of their best friends is going to get killed and now another best friend wants to rescue him and go with the aspiring killers to try to reason with them. Both Louis and Harry might get killed. 

“You’re in no position to make demands,” one of the hijackers shouts through the door. “We’re the ones with the guns. We can kill you and your boyfriend whenever we like to.”

“Not if you wants people to give in to your requests,” Louis shots back. “You need us as leverage, you can’t kill your leverage.”

“We can kill part of it, we can kill you. We don’t need you, you’re not important.”

“But I am. My dad works at the home office at a very high position, you more likely get what you want if you threaten to kill me than when you do with Harry.”

It’s only half a lie. His dad works at the home office but not at a high position, he’s only one of the many. He just really hopes the hijackers will believe him. 

“Please, take me to your boss and let me take your place.”

The hijackers don´t react but there´s no sound of retreating footsteps. Is Louis´ plan working?

“Louis, what are you doing?” Liam hisses from where he’s resting his head in Louis’ lap. He looks up at the older lad with big, scared eyes. “You’re going to get killed.”

“I don’t care,” Louis tells Liam, not looking into the brown puppy-eyes because he can’t stand the pain that he knows is there. “I just need Harry to be safe.”

“But we need you to be safe as well. Niall and I can´t lose you too, Louis, ” Liam pleads. He keeps shifting his head as he tries to catch Louis´ eyes. Every movement is accompanied by a whimper of pain. “That man is mad. He might end up killing both you and Harry.”

“I know but I have to take that chance. You would do the same if it were Zayn. You would want to do something like me if you heard they were planning on murdering him. ”

Liam falls silent because his friend speaks the truth. He may be the most levelheaded person in the band, he would do anything, even foolish things, if Zayn´s life was in danger. He loves him so much that the thought if his boyfriend in Harry´s situation would drive him crazy. 

Suddenly, the door of the compartment shoots open and one of the hijackers walks inside, his gun pointed threatingly at the two boys sitting on the ground. Niall lets out a scared whimper and backs back into the couch as far as the fabric allows. 

“I really hope you´re speaking the truth, boy, because you´re coming with us,” the armed man barks at the oldest boy. 

The man doesn´t give Louis time to stand up on his own; instead he grabs him by the arm right after he has laid Liam´s head down on the ground softly and drag him up. His arm throbs with the hold the man has on it and it stings like a bitch. There are going to be bruises, Louis is sure. 

He doesn´t have time to say anything to Liam or Niall either. He´s only able to look at Niall for one last time before he´s pushed out of the compartment. If Louis is going to die today, he hasn´t been able to say goodbye to Niall and Liam properly. 

What Louis sees when he’s shoved into the first wagon of the train pains him more than anything has ever had, even losing his grandfather to cancer. There had been peace in his grandfather’s eyes when he was dying because had been prepared for it. He had lived a full life and he had been ready for the inevitable end. 

Peace is nowhere to be found when he looks his friends in the eyes, only Harry and Zayn because Demi has turned her head away. There is only fear and pain written over the two faces that turn towards him. There is also shock enlarging their eyes because Louis’s supposed to still be in the relatively safe compartment with Niall and Liam. 

“Why did you bring this boy here,” the boss snaps as he stops playing with his gun to look at the man in his employ. It’s clear he isn’t happy that the other man has done something without asking for permission first. “I don’t need him here. He’s worthless to me, he is the less popular one of the band, so I’ve been told.” 

Louis doesn’t care what the piece of filth in front of him thinks of him, but the comment does hurt. It’s never nice to hear you’re worthless, even when it comes from a scumbag. Bullying always hurts, even when it comes from someone you don’t give a fuck about. 

“He said his father works with the government and that he wants to take Harry’s place,” the man holding Louis tells his boss with a voice that’s slightly unsteady. He’s probably wondering if it maybe was a mistake to give in to Louis pleading. “I thought you might be interested.”

“You did?” the grey-eyed male sneers and he narrows his eyes threating. If looks could kill, the other male would be preaching to the invisible choir right about now. Louis has never seen a more cold look and it scares the skejesus out of him even though it isn’t meant for him. 

“My father works at the prime minister’s office and he’s close with him,” Louis interjects because he can’t wait any longer. He wants to get Harry as quickly out of the first wagon as soon as possible.

“Is that so?” The boss turns his head to the feathery-haired boy with eyes that betray he doesn’t believe he’s telling the truth. Fear grips the younger boy by his throat as he sees his half-lie slip away from him. “How come you forgot that little detail when we took your little boyfriend?” 

“I was too scared to think straight,” Louis admits. His pride doesn’t matter as much as Harry does, so he’s willing to make himself seem vulnerable. “I’m speaking the truth, you have to believe me.”

_The boy is begging. He’s looking at Neil with pleading, blue eyes that would have probably worked if the older male had been weaker. But he isn’t weak. He’s used to people begging for their own or other people’s lives – even though the latter doesn’t happen as often as the former – he has become immune to it. He isn’t going to play along._

_Neil knows the brown-haired boy is lying. He’s trying to sell that he’s father is some important person at the home office, he would probably tell Neil his father plays golf with the prime minister if he would ask him. There isn’t any truth to his story._

_Anger boils inside Neil’s stomach at the audacity of the boy – how dare he lie to him – but he stops himself from lashing out. Hitting the little faggot isn’t part of the plan, he has to stick to the plan if he wants to get paid._

_The organization Neil is working for has a spotless reputation and he isn’t going to be the first person to spoil it. He will be killed if he tarnishes its image and Neil very much likes to live._


	10. Chapter 10

What do you do when you’ve just heard your son is a hostage on a train and that he and his friend are the first to get shut when the hostage takers don’t get what they want? Or rather, what can you do? Is there anything you can do other then sit on the couch like a statue because you’re frozen with fear, the only thing moving the tears on your cheek.

All Tricia can do is tremble like a leave on a tree in the middle of a thunder storm and pray pray that her son will come home safe. She prays to all the names given to God because she just wants her son live another day. 

Zayn has become so happy these last years. His life had been difficult at times, but he had been so happy with what he had accomplished. For so long he had struggled with who he was and where he belonged before he had met Liam and the boys but after he had found the brothers he never had, those struggles had come to an end. He belonged on the stage with Liam, Louis, Harry and Niall and was the boy who was Liam’s forever. 

But now Zayn’s promising life can be cut short because crazy people with guns thought it was a good idea to hijack a train. Tricia’s son might end with a bullet in his head because they think they’ll get want they want when they do. 

She doesn’t understand why the men with the guns think their demands can be granted. They must be delusional to think that someone can make it happen and it makes the mother so angry. 

Her husband is angry too but unlike Tricia, he expresses it. He shouts through his tears at the television and paces the room with large step. Zayn is his pride and joy, even though he doesn’t adhere to all of Allah’s commands and he loves him and hates that there’s nothing he can do. 

Zayn’s little sisters aren’t going to school today because their teacher understands and will pray for their brother. Tricia had thanked her and had asked her to pray for the other boys and their families as well. 

The oldest daughter tries to be strong for her mother even though she’s still so young. She is holding Tricia’s hand and leans against her because it gives her mother comfort. It’s the daughter that announces everything is going to be alright, not the mother. 

Tricia has called Liam’s mother because her husband was on a business trip and all of her children don’t live home anymore. She wanted the other woman to know she was there for her and that she could come to Bradford if she needed to. 

Karen had thanked her for the offer but Ruth and Nicola had come to her childhood home to share in her fear and Geoff was on his way back. She was going to be alright, as far as a person can be in this situation. Tricia told her to be strong, despite feeling herself anything but. 

Tricia had said goodbye to Karen without knowing her words did have the affect she wished they had but was afraid they did not. Karen does feel a little bit stronger when she hangs up the phone. 

Karen hasn’t slept last night because how could see when her son’s life was in danger. The tiredness behind her eyes, however, make her even more scared and anxious and made her snap at her daughters even though they were nothing but kind to her. 

Nicola and Ruth are in just as bad of a shape as their mother but unlike her, they have taken turns sleeping and are in a better mood because of it. Which is good because if all three of them has been in a bad mood, they would probably have started yelling at each other. 

Liam’s older sister did really love him, even though they used to dress him up in girl’s clothes. It has always been their way to express their love for their brother, which was often the case with older brothers rather than sisters. 

When their mother had called them about the hijack, they had immediately promised they would come to her with trembling voice full of fear and pain. They would go to her and help her through it because they knew she couldn’t do it on her own.

They had come, both of them, and watched every newsfeed at their mothers side, while telling her their brothers was going to be alright. The police were going to catch the hijackers and get the hostages out safely. All they had to do is wait. And they have been waiting, one day and one night but the police still hasn’t caught the hijackers. 

Waiting for something horrible or something wonderful to happen can be too much to bear when it takes too long.

Karen needs to be away from the TV for a moment, so she goes to the kitchen to make tea.For the last hour, there has been no new development – the police is still trying to reach the train without the hostage takers knowing and there hasn’t been any new shots heard. The anxious mother couldn’t bare waiting any longer, she needed to do something. 

Her hands are trembling as she puts the kettle on the stove, making her ears hurt as the metal repeatedly hits the darker metal of the stove and produces a painful noise. She has never trembled this badly, then again she has never been in a situation like this.

Karen has always been particularly worried about Liam because he was her youngest child and he had been bullied quite badly during secondary school. Whenever he went on tour, she would call him each night to check if he made it safely to the next town and if he was alright. He had never laughed about her worrying about him as much as she did because he was glad she did. He never told her this, but she knew. She knew it made him feel loved.

Liam is probably thinking about how much his parents and sister are worrying right now and the thought that her son thinking about his family’s fears as well as his own breaks Karen’s heart. He’s not carrying the fear of one men but four others as well.

And most likely Zayn’s as well. Zayn, who seemed so strong despite his slender build but was in reality really fragile. Liam is most likely trying to be strong for him and take over his fear because he doesn’t want to see the darker boy scared. 

Zayn has always leaned on Liam when things became too difficult or hard for him to bear and Karen’s son had let him because he cared for him, first as a friend but later on as a lover. He had always been there for the older boy and this time is probably no different. 

But Zayn has helped Liam as well. Having someone who loved him for who he was and knew to a certain extant what he went through had been a light whenever the hidden darkness inside him took over his mind. He has told his mother once that if it hadn’t been for Zayn, he would have probably lost himself a long time ago. 

Thinking about her son in this way, feels like shards of glass sliding down her throat and tears spring to her eyes at the pain. The world around her goes blurry and she needs to lean on the counter for a moment because if she doesn’t she’s going to fall to the ground. 

It takes Karen a long time to get the strength back into her legs and even a longer to open her eyes without bursting into tears again. Her eyes are finally dry again when Nicola comes running into the kitchen and Karen’s world suddenly narrows down to her daughter. She has a mask of horror and utter heartbreak on her face. Something bad must have happened, something really bad. 

The words that leaves the blonde woman’s mouth confirms her fears and makes her world come crashing down. Her heart breaks into innumerable pieces and the oxygen is pulled from her lunges.

Someone has been shot and this someone may be Liam, her son.

_In a terrible situation people can choose to either hope for the best or don’t even try and accept their fate, however horrible it is. Most people choose the first option at the beginning but end up straying to the second one because time has told them they’ve made the wrong one._

_Some people never give up on the first option because they want to remain able to see the light in the situation. They don’t want to give up hope of a better life because if they do, they will fall to the dark and not be able to return._

_But how long can you remain in the light when aggression takes the one thing that keeps you there away. What do you do if the one thing that keeps you from sinking is severed from you?_

_Five people hadn’t given up hope. They had believed they could escape from the darkness, scared but not broken. They had believed if they remained strong, they couldn’t be hurt so bad they couldn’t be heal if they were given enough time._

_Those hopes have now been shattered. Their believe in a somewhat happy ending has been destroyed by a single bullet. The thing that had held them to the light is slowly drifting away and leaves them pry to darkness. If the one who has been stricken down by the bullet dies, they fear will be haunted by the darkness forever._


	11. Epilogue

The room is full of journalists from all over the world. Journalists from Italy as well as Indonesia and all the countries in between are gathered in a big hall where the press conference will be held at. Everybody is waiting anxiously for it to start. 

The intentions of the press is mostly one of good will. They are here to hear the other side of the story because there’s only so much as the police know about what happened. They also have no knowledge how it felt to be part of the situation, to be witness something so awful. They can’t give emotions to the situation the way witnesses can.

Most of the people feel sorry for them, they knew how close they were. They know they used to be more friends than band mates until for some it turned into more. When they were together, all five of them, they were unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with, a fragile balance that only was stable when it was all five of them. Now that balance has been shattered.

One of them has died. One of them got cut down by a bullet that wasn’t meant for killing him. He had wrestled with the man holding the gun because he wanted to be brave. He had tried to disarm the other man but during the fight the gun went off and he got hurt. 

There has been guess work about what they boys are going through but nobody knows for sure. But maybe after today they will. Maybe they are going to tell today how they feel now that one of them is gone. 

A door opens in the front of the room and four boys walk inside, their mouths turned downwards, the corners heavy with grieve, and unshed tears in their eyes. They look broken, shattered beyond repair. Things will never be the same for them again, they probably feel like they’re never going to be happy again.

No other sounds apart from the clicking of cameras are heard as the boys sit down with all the eyes on them. What goes through their head as they prepare themselves to answer questions is something that the other people don’t know but it must the painful.

Someone from Modest tells the press how the conference will go and tells them if it will become too much for the boys, the press conference will be terminated. The boys will choose themselves which reporter can ask a question. 

The first question that is asked is if it’s true Louis tried to wrestled the gun away from the hijacker because he was afraid the man was going to kill Harry?

It was Zayn who answered, his eyes full of tears, regret and pity for the band mate who used to be Louis’s boyfriend. His voice is just as broken as his eyes.

“They were going to kill Harry first if their demands weren’t met and Louis found out. He convinced one of the hijackers to take him to his boss and when he was brought there, he begged the boss to let Harry go and to let him take his place.”

Zayn’s bottom lip begins to quiver and tears start to fall down his cheeks. Dark sorrow pollutes his voice, making it wobble as he tries to continue on.

“The boss… he wouldn’t listen. He started to yell at Louis…” 

Zayn voice breaks. He tries to keep talking but he’s unable to. The pain he feels because he has lost one of the most important people in his life is too much. 

It is Liam who takes over. He lays a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him and looks at the reports with his brown puppy-dog eyes.

“He told Louis he was going to kill Harry and there was nothing he could do about it. He was going to force him to watch when he was going to shoot him in the head. Zayn told me he never saw Louis so scared. 

But then he launched for the boss and knocked him over. The other hijackers must have been surprised because they didn’t do anything the first few seconds. 

Louis and the boss wrestled until the gun suddenly went off. Louis’s body went limp because he got shot. According to the doctor, he was hit in the heart and he died right away.”

Liam is crying now as well and hearts break at the horrible sight. Nobody says a word, rendered speechless by the grieve in the eyes of the boy in front of them. 

Other questions follow the first one and with every answer, the reports begin to understand what the boys are going through more. It becomes clear that they feel like one of their limbs is missing, like part of their soul is gone, now that they’ve lost Louis. They don’t feel whole anymore and they will never feel again.

_Almost everything had gone according to plan. Almost everything he had wanted to happen, happened and everything he wants to occur will be, he’s sure of it. He is going to win the next election because he now has proven that crime is thriving and the people need him. It was a really good decision to hire the services of the company so many politicians have used in the past._

_But there has also been something he hadn’t counted on, something that’s going to intervene with the second part of what he had planned. Someone has died which means he won’t be able to secure a reduced sentence for the hijackers. There is no possibility of that now that a famous person is dead._

_One Direction weren’t supposed to be on the train, only ordinary civilians should have been on it. But for some reason the five boys had decided to take the train and because of that choice they had jeopardized his plan. He has always hated celebrities but never as much as those five, now four boys._

_The relationship between him and the company is most likely going to be strained when they hear he can’t keep their employees out of prison, which sucks really bad because it means his funds will suffer._

_It doesn’t come as much of a surprise when someone of the company comes into his office and says as much._

_“We think it’s better for us to terminate our agreement,” the bald guy tells the minister with sharp look on his face. He looks really menacing, even with the suit he’s wearing. The minister still gets shivers whenever the man looks at him, even though he has worked with him for three years. “You will receive your payments for another two months but after that, we won’t give anymore.”_

_“I understand,” the minister tells the other male. “I guess I’ll have to be happy with only the salary of the prime minister. I can live with that.”_

_Because that’s what all the trouble was about, that was why he hired the company in the first place, to become the prime minster, the most powerful person on Great Britain. He doesn’t need them anymore._

**Choice are plentiful and everywhere and you have to make them every day. With every choice made, you step onto a new road that will lead you to a new opportunity or a new possibility. Every road leads to a new future.**

**These new futures can be bright, but they also can be dark. Sometimes you make a wrong decision, you follow a path that leads to darkness you didn’t know about. When you make the wrong choices, you have to deal with the consequences.**

**When you kill someone because you made the wrong decision, you’re going to have to deal with the guilt; if you lose someone because you have gone right when you should have gone left, you have to learn to live without them.**

**You wish you could go back in time and choose differently, but there isn’t such a possibility. All you can do is regret the past and in time move in, hoping you’ll choose wiser next time.**


End file.
